The Special Court of Dhaka on Monday concluded formal proceedings of the Pilkhana carnage case, which was filed following bloodshed at the BDR headquarters in 2009.
The formal proceedings were concluded through the cross-examination of the last prosecution witness, Abdul Kahar Akanda, by the defence lawyer. Akanda is also the special superintendent of CID and investigating officer (IO) of the case
Metropolitan Sessions judge Zahirul Haque started the day’s proceedings at 10 am at the temporarily set up court in the playground of Alia Madrasa in Bakshibazar to complete the case. A total of 569 prosecution witnesses gave their depositions and were cross-examined by defence lawyers in the case.
Advocate Khandkar Mahbub Hossain, counsel for Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, said the BDR carnage had taken place at the Pilkhana headquarters due to the government’s incompetence. “Had there been instant initiatives from the government, it could have avoided the massacre,” he added.
Hossain also claimed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did not come at the BDR headquarters on February 25, 2009, as the government detective branch had prior information about the situation. He also said that the government had implicated BNP leader Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu in the BDR killing case for political reasons.
Advocate Anisul Huq and PP Mosarraf Hossain appeared for the state during the day’s proceedings.
A total of 824 BDR jawans and 23 civilians have been accused of crimes like arson, theft, looting and dumping of bodies in the case. Fifty-seven army officers, who were on deputation in the then Bangladesh Rifles, renamed later as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), were killed in the mutiny that took placed inside the BDR Headquarters on February 25-26 in 2009.
The mutineers were tried under the BDR Act, which did not have the provision to try the deputy assistant Directors of BDR. As a result, BDR deputy assistant director (DAD) Tauhid and six others could not be tried under that law.
They have been indicted in the carnage case.
-With The Independent input
